Beyond borders: Exhibitions in California

A multi-museum initiative launching this autumn in southern California examines the region's deep Latin American and Latino roots

Wednesday, September 13, 2017,

By Stephanie Cavagnaro

Un-rest by Valeska Soares at Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA

In a fit of neighbourly love, southern California is transforming 70 institutions into a massive arty homage to Latin American and Latino culture. From 15 September through to January 2018, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA will showcase work from a staggering 1,100 artists, which cumulatively explores people and movements that have traversed boundaries. Topics include the controversial US-Mexico border, luxury objects in the pre-Columbian Americas and queer networks in Chicano LA. If you prefer the big screen, the initiative isn't limited to gallery-style exhibitions: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will host film screenings including From Latin America to Hollywood: Latino Film Culture in Los Angeles, which looks at Chicano and New Latin American cinema movements from the 1960s to the present day.

Four to try: Exhibitions

Valeska Soares: Any Moment Now

Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Explore the effects of memory and time on the mind in this exhibition featuring a 25-year span of Valeska Soares's work. The New York-based Brazilian artist often imparts serial repetition on domestic objects to challenge convictions about the boundaries surrounding the personal and universal. Until 31 Dec.

Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985 Hammer Museum
Many pioneering works were born from periods of upheaval in Latin America — some of which can be seen at this exhibition with an all-female line-up. Pieces from over 100 artists from 15 countries are on display. Look out for works by Marie Orensanz, Ana Mendieta and Lygia Clark. Until 31 Dec.

Home — So Different, So Appealing Los Angeles County Museum of Art
More than a marker of residence, 'home' is a social concept, used in this exhibition as a lens to view socioeconomic and political issues. Don't miss Carmen Argote's 720 Sq. Feet: Household Mutations, which features carpet from her childhood home to explore interior vs exterior space. Until 15 Oct.

Kinesthesia: Latin American Kinetic Art, 1954-1969 Palm Springs Art Museum
While the minimalist, sensory-heavy Light and Space movement took off in southern California in the 1960s, similar radical artists were emerging in Argentina and Venezuela. See the light with 50 works of bold Latin American kinetic sculptures, many of which predate their US counterparts. Until 15 Jan.

While you're there…

Get starry-eyed

Update your celestial radar: California's

Joshua Tree National Park

has been designated an International Dark Sky Park. Visit for its namesake candelabra-shaped yucca trees and rock formations, and stay past dark to spot glittering stars and satellites. Meanwhile, in early 2018, Rancho Mirage Observatory will open in Greater Palm Springs with a rotating dome and open deck for DIY astronomers.